Battle of Verrieres Ridge

The Battle of Verrieres Ridge (19-25 July 1944) was a tank battle of World War II that occurred when two Canadian infantry divisions and the Canadian 2nd Armored Brigade assaulted a ridge held by elements of three SS panzer divisions. The Canadians had attacked Verrieres Ridge - 8 miles to the south of Caen - with the goal of distracting the Germans from the true Allied breakout at St. Lo during Operation Cobra. The battle-hardened German veterans entrenched on the ridge after falling back from Caen, forming a strong defensive position. Over the course of six days, the British and Canadian forces made several attempts to take the ridge from the Waffen-SS soldiers, but the Germans launched strong and effective counterattacks after holding off Commonwealth assaults; the Allies suffered heavy losses for little strategic gain. The Black Watch of Canada regiment had assaulted the ridge with 325 men, and only 15 made it back to the start line; the others were killed or wounded in the costliest single day for a Canadian battalion since the 1942 Dieppe Raid.